The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in a much different position today than they were a couple months ago, after learning they would in fact have Tom Brady but won't have Bruce Arians. There's still question marks on whether players like Rob Gronkowski and Ndamukong Suh will return, but those questions can only be answered by the front office.
What we can look at is the Buccaneers' offseason moves outside those. The team stayed relatively quiet during the heat of free agency, but did bring in veteran DB Logan Ryan. In the draft, the Buccaneers selected eight players, and afterwards, grabbed 13 undrafted free agents.
It's those players we're taking a closer look at today. In fact, we're going to be taking a closer look at an undrafted free agent who has the potential to make the Buccaneers' final 53-man roster come the end of the summer. That player is former Western Kentucky wideout Jerreth Sterns.
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Buccaneers Undrafted Free Agent To Make 2022 NFL Roster
Now, hold on before you go checking Sterns' college stats. There honestly just aren't many of them, at least at the FBS level. Sterns, and his Hilltopper quarterback Bailey Zappe, both began their careers not in Bowling Green, but at Houston Baptist in the FCS. In his freshman campaign, Sterns caught 68 balls for 684 yards and six total touchdowns, which includes one passing score and one rushing score. As a sophomore he improved a great deal, catching 105 passes for 833 yards and nine touchdowns. Houston Baptist would only play four games in 2020 for Sterns' junior campaign, but he would still tally 454 yards and four more scores.
However, it would be the jump to the FBS that would send Sterns into the stratosphere. As Zappe's favorite target across the single greatest statistical passing season in FBS history, Sterns put up numbers that wouldn't be out of place in the NCAA Football video games of years past.
Do not scratch your eyes reading this: Sterns really recorded 150 catches for 1902 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Go ahead, read that again. A third glance won't hurt either.
It might help your understanding to know that this stat tally made Sterns only the third pass catcher this millennium to secure the Triple Crown, leading the country in all three major statistical categories.
With those kinds of numbers, you must be asking yourself, why wasn't Sterns a player whose name was called during the draft? Well, NFL teams had reservations about Sterns as a player who is only 5-foot-7 and only had one season of FBS competition while also benefiting from perhaps the most successful Air Raid offense that has ever been put together. It's worth noting that despite a very good showing at the Shrine Bowl, Sterns did not receive an invite to the combine either.
With the negative mindset of the teams out of the way, why should you believe Sterns will make the roster come September? There are a few reasons, so let's get into that.
First, while he's no world-class sprinter, Sterns has the kind of speed necessary to create separation in the slot, where he's most comfortable. This speed also allowed him to be a punt returner at both stops of his college career, and the Buccaneers may use him there as well.
Meanwhile, his size, or lack thereof, leads to an interesting ball-carrying style compared to other receivers. Receivers are often the primary source of a team's fumbles due to a more loose hold on the ball to allow better agility on the outside. As Sterns is more comfortable in the slot across the middle, he carries the ball almost like a running back, tight to his chest and unrelenting in his grasp. This is a personal challenge to any linebacker or defensive back in the league to try and pop the ball free from Sterns' arms. Not sure it's even possible, so good luck with that.
Tom Brady has made a habit of elevating the play of receivers who don't necessarily have big-time pedigrees, so don't be surprised if Jerreth Sterns is next on that list.
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